Retired Covenant minister Philip Stenberg passed away on May 30, 2026, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was 83.
Philip Noel Stenberg was born December 11, 1942, to Hildur and Mauritz Stenberg in South Bend, Indiana. Alongside his sister, Nancy, Phil grew up in a warm, close-knit family with four grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, all with roots in Sweden. From the very beginning, the church was a second home for Phil. His first memory, he would recount, was a cold December bus ride with his mother to a Ladies’ Aid meeting at the local Covenant church. Pastors and their spouses were frequent guests in the Stenberg household, and Phil grew up counting them as friends. He was confirmed and baptized in 1956 by Pastor Robert W. Anderson, a moment he described as “significant in my spiritual life,” though he noted that Pastor Anderson had to threaten the confirmands with recording their class and playing it back for their parents to curb their unruly behavior.
After graduating from John Adams High School in 1961, Phil began studying engineering at the University of Notre Dame. During his father’s extended illness, Phil sensed a call to pastoral ministry. He pre-enrolled in seminary, transferred to Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana, and watched his father die during Holy Week in 1963. The loss deepened his sense of calling.
On November 26, 1964, Phil married Virginia Thomas. He went on to attend North Park Theological Seminary, where he was mentored by Donald Frisk, Glenn Anderson, Fred Holmgren, Henry Gustafson, Burton Nelson, and Wesley Nelson—many of whom remained friends for decades. His internship in Jamestown, New York, confirmed his call, and he was ordained in 1970. In 1988 Phil and Virginia divorced, and he and his two children, Greg and Rachel, moved into the Edgebrook parsonage, where they were warmly welcomed by the congregation. On September 21, 1991, he married Evonne Peterson, becoming stepfather to her four daughters: Sara, Sonja, Christi, and Bekki. In June 2000, during the Covenant Annual Meeting in Saint Paul, Evonne died after a brief illness. Phil was sustained through grief by family, colleagues, and parishioners. Through Evonne’s friendship and encouragement, Linda Lund had begun attending Bethlehem Covenant Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and singing in the choir. Phil asked her to dinner in late 2001, and they married on May 25, 2002, bringing her sons Kedrik and Ole into an already large and loving blended family—one that now includes 14 grandchildren.
Phil’s 41 years of parish ministry took him across the Covenant family: Lindsborg, Kansas (1969–1972); Stambaugh, Michigan (1973–1977); Northbrook, Illinois (1977–1988); Edgebrook, Illinois (1989–1993); and Bethlehem Covenant Church in Minneapolis (1993–2008). In retirement, he continued serving as interim pastor in Berlin, Connecticut (2010–2011); Mason City, Iowa (2011–2012); and Trimont, Minnesota (2015–2016). Throughout his ministry years, he continued his education, earning a doctor of ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in 1983. Phil
also served the wider denomination on the Board of World Mission, the Midwest Conference Executive Board, the Board of Ministry, and the Ministerium, which he served as president. He chaired the ministerial associations of both the Central and Northwest Conferences, traveled with the Minister’s Chorus to Sweden, and led study tours to Israel and Palestine and—with Dr. Karl Olsson and Dr. Phil Anderson—to Sweden and Germany.
Phil was, at his core, a pastor’s pastor who prioritized relationships, collegiality, and care for the church and for individuals throughout his life. Each year he and Linda set aside a week for the Festival of Homiletics, an ecumenical gathering of preachers and lovers of the gospel. They traveled together to study centers in Israel and Oxford, England, fueling a shared love of reading and learning. In a prayer offered at an ordination service, Phil articulated what he had aspired to his entire career: “We invoke your Spirit to fill these your servants so they will know unmistakably they are called and consecrated into your holy service…. Sustain them by your grace.” He was himself sustained by that grace, preached it faithfully, and now rests in it.
Philip Stenberg is survived by his wife Linda Lund Stenberg; his former wife, Virginia Stenberg; his sister, Nancy Carlson (Ken); his children, Gregory Stenberg (Diane Carroll) and Rachel Gooding (Mike); grandchildren, Logan Gooding, John Stenberg, Emma Hill (Tristan), and Alyssa Wheeler (Jonathan); stepsons, Ole Lund and Kedrik Lund (Katrina); and step-grandchildren, Onnika, Odin, Haakon, and Rhone; stepdaughters, Sara Christiansen (Blake), Sonja Peterson, Christi Anderson (Tim), and Bekki Smith (Clayton); and step-grandchildren, Arne, Signe, Finn, and Greta Christiansen, Isak Kane (Kayla), Elsa and Soren Anderson, and August and Louisa Smith.
A service of witness to the resurrection will be held at Bethlehem Covenant Church in Minneapolis on Saturday, June 20, at 11 a.m., followed by a luncheon at the church. The service will be livestreamed on Bethlehem’s YouTube channel. Pastor colleagues are invited to wear their stoles.
Peace be to his memory.
